Just as we see the world in colour, so we see things in 3D
Raymond Snoddy says that while it’s just a matter of time before 3D TV takes-off, there are some hurdles to overcome first.
It is a little known fact that 25 matches in the current World Cup finals in South Africa are being transmitted in 3D courtesy of the European Broadcasting Union.
For English goalkeeper Robert Green’s sake, it would be better if the games did not include England’s opener against the US.
The American goal looked quite bad enough in 2D thank you.
The audience for 3D television football will obviously be tiny this time. The point is that big events like the World Cup are excellent launch pads for new technologies such as 3D.
The last World Cup in Germany was the first major event to be covered live by High Definition, with the BBC running a test channel for Sky to pick up.
Four years on, HD – if not quite yet a universal phenomenon – is already accepted as ordinary and an inevitable part of the future media environment.
It is equally clear that many of us will be wearing our 3D glasses to watch the 2014 World Cup from Brazil – at least if set manufacturers like Sony and Samsung have any thing to do with it.
The innovators – and not just Sky or the American movie studios – are starting to put their weight behind 3D.
In London yesterday (Tues), David Zaslav, chief executive of Discovery Communications, put his weight behind the impending 3D revolution.
Discovery’s content will look great in 3D, and the company does not want to be left out of what could easily become the next big thing.
Besides, Discovery, now celebrating its 25th anniversary, has had a history of technical innovation and was involved in HD as early as 2002.
Now the factual broadcaster plans to launch a 24-hour 3D channel in the US towards the end of this year or early next.
The deal is a three-way joint venture with Sony and IMAX to guarantee both marketing support and content.
Discovery will not be alone. There will be a rash of 3D television services launched this year led by Sky in the UK but also including DirecTV and ESPN in the US and Canal+ in France.
Yet listening to David Zaslav there is an undeniable note of caution in his voice.
A joint venture was chosen as the vehicle to spread the risk, and the decision on whether or not to launch a 3D channel in the UK may not be taken before 2012. Discovery wants to judge the public reaction first, although most viewers seemed to like Sky’s launch of 3D football in pubs.
Despite the obvious enthusiasm for 3D by companies such as Sony, who want to sell us all new television sets, this is not so simple a call as HD.
Some of the content may not work so well in 3D. Zaslav admitted yesterday that he would not be rushing into 3D with one of Discovery’s recent hits, The Deadliest Catch on crab fishing off Alaska.
Far too much motion, definitely too much sea and with it the potential to make viewers queasy, at the very least.
Then there is the cost. Discovery believes that you add around 50% to the cost by shooting in 3D, and converting existing content frame by frame to 3D can double costs.
Despite the obvious challenges, it is difficult to argue with the dictum of movie producer Jeffrey Katzenberg that just as we see the world in colour, so we see things in 3D. So it’s just a matter of time before an inevitable change happens.
There is still the small matter of getting there and persuading all those who have splashed out on perfectly decent HD sets to spend again in a recession.
Supporters of 3D also have to wean themselves off the endless gimmicks – things that fly in your face – and spend more time portraying a “normal” world in three dimensions.
It could easily be the World Cup of 2018 – in England perhaps – before 3D becomes a real winner, though it certainly will eventually.
Discovery showed considerable equanimity yesterday about developments at a fellow 3D pioneer – the plan by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation to buy the majority stake in BSkyB it does not already own.
Sky invested in the future and was a good partner and there was no sign at all of Discovery running off to regulators.
In fact there was a near universal reaction yesterday that Murdoch has always behaved as if he already owned all of BSkyB anyway so what would change.
It’s like a vote of confidence in the company. Murdoch believes so much in the future of BSkyB he wants to own all of it.
It won’t be seen that way and the deal – if the independent directors can agree a fair price – will almost inevitably wend its way through the regulatory authorities who will be concerned about an £8 billion boost to News Corp’s scale and impact.
But it probably won’t take as long as launching a 3D channel.